Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Was Donald Sterling Caught in a Racist Version of the Honeypot Trap?

As I wrote here, I am more interested in this upcoming Sunday's WWE pay per view match between The Shield and a reunited Evolution than the faux "controversy" about the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers and his racist ramblings.

I also have two longer and substantive pieces for We Are Respectable Negroes to which I am devoting my mental energy.

And once more, anything that gets black men to lessen their near pathological obsession with basketball is a net gain in my book. I can only dream that Donald Sterling will be an antidote for their NBA addiction.

I have little doubt that Donald Sterling is a racist. I operate from the assumption that racism is the ether that the American people drink, live in, and breathe. Moreover, the fact that his girlfriend is a woman of color, and that Sterling enjoyed putting his penis inside of her, has nothing at all to do with his feelings about black people. One of the rules of racism--both the old school and new school variety--is that white racists can like black or brown people retail and have no use for them wholesale.

However, something about the Donald Sterling "scandal" is just too neat and tidy. A thought. One of the classic maneuvers in spycraft is the "honeypot trap": it involves the use of sex or seduction as a way of blackmailing or otherwise manipulating a target. Who knows, maybe Sterling's then girlfriend, V. Stiviano, sprung her own version of the (racism) honeypot trap on Donald Sterling? Subsequently, he showed the American people who he really is and has always been.
Please do not understand me. White racism does not need to be baited or tricked or trapped or snickered to make itself known or visible. But, white racism is often so omnipresent (and simultaneously invisible) that it fills whatever container, much like water or a noxious gas, that is available in the right environment. White racists cannot resist the impulse or compulsion.

The very smart Kareem Abdul-Jabbar offered his thoughts on the the Donald Sterling scandal at Time magazine's online site. His prose is both lethal and funny.

Abdul-Jabbar has a wonderful gift for metaphor and visually evocative writing. I loved the following:

And now the poor guy’s girlfriend (undoubtedly ex-girlfriend now) is on tape cajoling him into revealing his racism. Man, what a winding road she led him down to get all of that out. She was like a sexy nanny playing “pin the fried chicken on the Sambo.” She blindfolded him and spun him around until he was just blathering all sorts of incoherent racist sound bites that had the news media peeing themselves with glee.

They caught big game on a slow news day, so they put his head on a pike, dubbed him Lord of the Flies, and danced around him whooping.

I don’t blame them. I’m doing some whooping right now. Racists deserve to be paraded around the modern town square of the television screen so that the rest of us who believe in the American ideals of equality can be reminded that racism is still a disease that we haven’t yet licked.

Abdul-Jabbar and I are in agreement as he observes:

What bothers me about this whole Donald Sterling affair isn’t just his racism. I’m bothered that everyone acts as if it’s a huge surprise. Now there’s all this dramatic and very public rending of clothing about whether they should keep their expensive Clippers season tickets. Really? All this other stuff I listed above has been going on for years and this ridiculous conversation with his girlfriend is what puts you over the edge? That’s the smoking gun?

He was discriminating against black and Hispanic families for years, preventing them from getting housing. It was public record. We did nothing. Suddenly he says he doesn’t want his girlfriend posing with Magic Johnson on Instagram and we bring out the torches and rope. Shouldn’t we have all called for his resignation back then?

As an innovator in the language used to describe black conservatives--I would like to believe that I coined phrases such as "black garbage pail kids", or how black conservatives are engaging in "political blackface" and "political fellatio"--game recognizes game.

I will be borrowing Kareem's lethal verbiage (with proper attribution of course) and using it when appropriate.

Please teach me something if you would. Should I be more upset or surprised by Sterling's racism? And why are so many people aghast, hurt, and shocked, by his private thoughts about black people?

Maybe my race realism cynicism about the backstage (and frontstage) reality of white supremacy in post civil rights era America has made me numb to such antics and public histrionics.

39 comments:

Learning IS Eternal
said...

Nah! Your attitude, the tone of this post are balanced and correct.

I'm not shocked either. Professional sports are owned by white men. Do you really "believe" that at least (n)one of them are racist, hold these same ideals as Swirling-Sterling? Do you think this recording will hurt his campaign **romney**?

We are the most speech giving, marching-est, protesting people ever but on the south side of anywhere amurr'KKKlan we put hands on each other in record time behind vices placed in areas by people like sterling, a death culture in our vicinity created by people like sterling.

Until we lay hands/guns on the power structure of white supremacy this will continue to happen.

I really don't want to hear the so-called solutions, what we should do, etc. If all y'all gon' do is lip wrestle then I should definitely be watching wrestling like CDV.

Your outrage @this is the same as it was w/Ramarley Graham, Trayvon, Jordan Davis, Renisha McBride. They lost the prime life their life. Lip service. This California raising spoke how they all speak at home. More fucking lip service, that shit y'all expressing ain't outrage. FOH.

Don't support it (financially). Simple. Somebody play w/you; drop 'em.

Employers google/Facebook potential/current employees all the time and you telling me nada one black person hasn't heard his southern strategy for ownership "I want poor black kids playing for a white owner?" You've never caught wind of his housing practices against non-whites? It's old as all of us who hang out @WARN.

Yet you took the contract like the slaves Harriet Tubman couldn't save because... Well... They didn't realize/see themselves as slaves.

Really CD, you make me feel bad for bringing it up. I am not a sports fan so, I didn't know about this man and his prior acts. This being the first time I've heard of it, it was surprising to me. Not so much that his type exists. We generally know that they do. But, it is a rare occasion where behind the scenes talk is captured and posted for the world to see. At least for those of us who are navigating life and trying to keep up with as much of what is going on in the world, as possible.

As to the girlfriend, it is apparent that there was some sort of "understanding" prior to the tape that she was willing to go along with, until she wasn't. Whether she finally grabbed a conscious and decided to reveal or she was looking to set him up, in order to get enough info for a windfall payment, she did herself no favors.

"And why are so many people aghast, hurt, and shocked, by his private thoughts about black people?"

This is the odd the part. It's as if people are OK with him redlining his apartments as long as he doesn't give voice as to *why* he redlined his apartments.

Maybe it's the personal experience factor. Most of us were taught to not call people names, but likely never heard the words, "How many times have I told you that you HAVE to rent your apartments to ALL peoples! Now get inside before I paddle your butt!" Or maybe it's simply that it's prima facie evidence of douchbaggery. You don't have to trust anyone else's opinion or verdict. You can hear it with your own ears.

I was listening to NPR on my way home from dropping my son off at daycare and the host said, "Coming up; we'll speak with a journalist from the LA Times who says Donald Sterling has a 30 year history of racism. Sterling was recently in the news over some ALLEGEDLY racist comments to his girlfriend."

"Why are white liberals so afraid to call out racism?" CDV

"I operate from the assumption that racism is the ether that the American people drink, live in, and breathe." CDV

That is how I feel about it. Not shocking.

Interestingly, I have seen conservatives address not only his racist comment, but his discriminatory housing policies. It's interesting because they routinely deny that racism and discrimination have any effect on black mobility in America.

You should not be surprised or upset by an example of white racism. I would hope you can still be somewhat disappointed by it - and I am white - it would mean your default mindset is to expect the worst in white people - suspecting we are all racists - always close to being outed. . . I can understand you thinking that - history provides ample evidence - overt or standing silent . . . I just yearn for more optimism - we are not all the same either. . .

Anyone surprised or upset by this Sterling example was simply uninformed about the man's racist history. . . Not that everyone should have known - NBA officials and owners have known for decades - they used up their surprised and upset cards long ago.

Abdul-Jabbar makes clear that there is a lot of blame to go around. Just perusing a few newspapers about the story revealed that the local branch of the NAACP in Los Angeles was going to give him a lifetime achievement award for what, the second time? They almost certainly knew or should have known his history. I lived in Europe for 18 years, so I don't know much about the LA Clippers and the owner, and didn't follow the NBA. But, didn't the LA Times know and make it an issue? The NY Times had a story on how much was known. But, did the NY Times make it an issue? I assume Magic Johnson knew Elgin Baylor--one of the all-time Laker greats in the pantheon of basketball greats. But, Magic said he was hurt because he thought he and Sterling were friends. Really? Facebook friends or real friends? Doc Rivers played for Sterling and then came back to coach for a boatload of money. He must have read about the Baylor trial in 2009? Was Rivers surprised? Is he shocked, shocked to know that Sterling thinks Rivers and his black players should be grateful slaves on what Baylor called his 'plantation.' And then, there is the larger picture. I listened to talk radio on ESPN and there we have a bunch of white guys on every show essentially talking about what white people should think and react to a racist white guy. For diversity, they'll bring in black analysts or commentators. The burden, in their view, falls on the black players on the Clippers and in the league. Really? The burden, in my view, falls on all the white owners. They have to make a stand and talking white billionaire-to-white billionaire, they have to reason together and tell him get the hell out of this league. And, I can understand corporations deserting the ship, but they certainly knew Sterling's history. I'm not going to absolve myself. But, Abdul-Jabbar's parting lesson should be taken to heart by everyone--we must oppose racism as soon as we see it. But, white supremacy is baked into America's institutions and our psyche. It's going to take a lot of vigilance.

First time I ever saw a faceshield. The boingboing commenters say it's common in China... . They are the ultimate in UV protection for maximum skin lightness. While rich American white women spend money and hours in tanning booths, darkening their skin, plus injections for fuller lips, the wealthy ladies in China are staying as pale as possible.

Please excuse the off topic comment but the pervasiveness of race in America mentioned above brought about something I've been dealing with. I've been neglecting commenting here for a while, as I've been engaged in catching up on a podcast about biblical textual criticism and theology (call it a childhood fixation, brought on by the Noah movie). I'd like to share what I've been thinking about on my own while lacking the aid of the intelligent crowd we have here, hopefully someone can help me sort this out.The presenter is very erudite and open-minded, and enjoys plumbing the depths of possibility on the origins of stories and sources. But every so often the open-minded, humorous, and erudite voice drops and it almost feels like someone else just threw in a snide remark about liberals/Obama/communists/America-haters/O.J. Simpson, or ACORN perpetuating modern sex slavery (though on the last one he was called out and vowed to do more research, but the judgement was already cast so I'm not sure it matters at that point). I was thinking about this and trying my best to figure out what point of view he held that led to this wholesale embrace of essentially conspiranoid thinking (only on a few issues, to be fair). It then dawned on me that maybe the reason I can't work out his thinking is because he's operating with unexamined white racial resentment. Not in the sense that he is openly resentful about race, but underneath the train of thought there's a boogyman, coming out of the 60s and 70s to ruin everything. I've tried to be as fair as possible to his positions, to the point of re-examining from first principles why it is I even disagree with him. I still admire his scholarly work, and hope this doesn't dissuade anyone else from partaking, but I'm too inexperienced to work these thoughts out on my own. Am I just not grasping his particular politics, or am I right that someone might possess some sort of unexamined resentment, yet otherwise be open-minded on a wide range of issues, even on race? Any similar experiences with people you admire?

I've mentioned on here before that I didn't get the sports gene, so I wasn't too aware of Donald Sterling before this uproar. If I had been asked point-blank about the Los Angeles basketball team, I would have said it was the Lakers. I may have a vague recollection of hearing about the apartment redlining cases. So I had to look up this latest thing but I'm sorry to say it didn't really surprise me.

But I have to agree, the redlining is what should have had people outraged a long time ago. It occurred to me this morning that housing discrimination is illegal, at least actionable in the civil sense if not the criminal. Personal racism, i.e., not wanting to hang out socially with a certain race, while unfortunate, is not, but that is what's gotten people mad at Sterling.

There may be different reasons why this it's the case that the redlining was ignored while the personal racism causes outrage. One is that old thing (attributed to Stalin I guess) about something that happens to a bunch of people is a statistic while it involving one person is a tragedy. The redlining cases and settlements were kept somewhat under the radar by Sterling and the plaintiffs were just regular "nobodies," while Sterling and Stiviano are visible, with names and faces and therefore more interesting. Also, the scandal involves personal sexytimes, at least implicitly, with a rich old man and a (conventionally) beautiful young woman. And sports, about which people in this culture are absolutely nutso. Sexytimes and sports together, now that makes it NEWS.

" But every so often the open-minded, humorous, and erudite voice drops and it almost feels like someone else just threw in a snide remark about liberals/Obama/communists/America-haters/O.J. Simpson, or ACORN perpetuating modern sex slavery (though on the last one he was called out and vowed to do more research, but the judgement was already cast so I'm not sure it matters at that point)."

And what do you mean by this:

"It then dawned on me that maybe the reason I can't work out his thinking is because he's operating with unexamined white racial resentment. Not in the sense that he is openly resentful about race, but underneath the train of thought there's a boogyman, coming out of the 60s and 70s to ruin everything. I've tried to be as fair as possible to his positions, to the point of re-examining from first principles why it is I even disagree with him."

I hear you. Remember, whiteness and racism are not about individual white people. We are talking about systems. Those systems socialize us and we internalize its norms. We do this in different ways too.

Using sexism for example. If someone asked me to make a bet on if a given man raised in Western society was a sexist the smart money would bet "yes" both that they are sexist actively and passively.

I use the same logic with racism and homophobia. Does that mean on a given day I am computing and thinking about if every white person I know and interact with is a "racist"? Of course not. Why? Because that would be exhausting and inefficient and 2) could very well be untrue and thus prevent me from having meaningful and productive relationships with people who happen to be white.

If you didn't get a chance to watch that NBA panel with Barkley, Shaq, etc last night check it out. It was entertaining but the conclusions reached by the resident black white apologist were typical. Barkley, whose politics are suspect on many things, actually seemed to be talking some sense.

Armed resistance would bring no gains today. But as we talked about with Martin and SYG, individual black and brown people who are going to be shot down by those killers should arm themselves legally.

We would expect that people vote with their pocketbooks, stop going to those games, stop playing, and exercise a bit of politically conscious consumer behavior. Not gonna happen. The allure of that bouncing ball--in this case a literal one--is too damn great. Sad.

I think Vanessa Stiavino is already being demonized for kanoodling. She ain't "stupid" if she set honey pot in anticipation of a book/movie deal. And we should acknowledge that pro sports is the last bastion of unionism, we should all be in such a strong union.

I am actually surprised that the NBA Commissioner suspended Sterling for life and is trying to find a way to force him to sell the team.

As for making her the villain, Donald Trump was the first I heard say she is the "girlfriend from hell." Alex Jones says it's some sort of conspiracy, Bill Kristol cautioned people to not get all "hysterical" over it.

This one is my favorite: John Kinderaker: "It is telling that this domestic upheaval between an aging billionaire and his gold-digging, disloyal mistress," he writes, "represents the best the Left can come up with to support its claim that racism and the 'legacy of race and slavery and segregation' are alive and well."

Sorry I was talking about a guy unrelated to your post! He's the presenter on a podcast I've been listening to and every so often he goes off the deep end, and I was having a hard time figuring out how someone so critically minded could just start picking up where Glen Beck's talking points left off. I chopped his name out while editing and that made it confusing. That's my bad.

For those interested, the remarks of Allen Keyes were re-posted at the Oath Keepers website. Oath Keepers is the virtual backbone of the Patriot militia movement linked to both Ron Paul's Tea Party faction and the Christian Reconstructionist-driven Constitution Party. It is just one linkage showing how fundamentalist Christianity, a political-military strategy, personnel, and organizations come together in an effort to delegitimize the federal government. This whole "Battle in Bunkerville" was not only orchestrated by Oath Keepers and its allies, it is being bankrolled by the Kochs and energy industries, with help from the National Rifle Association. SEE http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2014/04/26/black-leader-says-bundy-remarks-not-racist/.

I do often come across folks with otherwise sound views that say things that I just cannot get behind. I do believe often it is due to unexamined prejudices, privilege, racial resentment and other similar social pathologies.

Without going into too much detail I can say I have had a similar experience. I think that part of the problem is that somehow in Christian religious circles so many see God and Jesus Christ as a reflection of themselves and White Conservative values as definitive of who God is. In my opinion Christianity is merely a tool of convience for these types and interpreted as a confirmation of the rightness of Whiteness. It is unfortunate, and feel that outside of a good grasp of some spiritual matters the person is setting himself up for failure, and what is good and worthwhile about his ministry and message will ultimately be lost. I have realized, despite how hurt I felt by some of what this religious leader has said, whatever the outcome, it is his lesson to learn. Interestingly he does have some Black followers. In my opinion the best you can do is take what you like from what the individual you are listening to has to say and leave the rest. Ultimately you will be able to objectively make a decision about rather or not you want to continue to listen to him. It is unfortunate often racism and Christianity seem to go hand in hand.

There really is no angle in this sordid tale that should be considered news. I wasn't surprised about Bundy's rumination on "the negro," nor am I re Sterling's musings. In fact, people really shouldn't be surprised about him because he has a history of worse; of actually acting on his racism.

That said, I wonder: how is it that the NAACP was set to give him a "Lifetime Achievement Award" after his history of racial incidents, particularly the housing discrimination suit? Surely they had to know about that.

Sorry Chauncey, I love you. But I'm not buying Kareem's Malleus Maleficarum view of womanhood. To blame feminine wiles for some old fossil making a fool of himself , is a bit vapid, in 2014. After all, Sterling is a wealthy accomplished lawyer and businessman. He is also very much married. He has more than 50 years on Vivian. However,like so many men of his means, the sense of entitlement includes trophy women. Besides, I think Kareem sounds a little like he may be speaking from his own experiences with mistresses.

It appears Vivian Stiviano is the typical trophy woman. She is a model of course. That's what she claims. Yet, I'll bet, she has no substantial body of work. The other faux position of a trophy woman is actress. But this could indicate an appearance in one movie, with a minor speaking part. She may also claim to be a dancer, but is most likely a stripper. She may also be a hostess in an upscale club. Typically, she will boast of how many famous men hit on her. Most likely she is a high school dropout, and does not have any money. But what she brings to wealthy men is her beauty, youth and sex. That's it!

I could list numerous famous men that have married women like Vivian. Trophy women's repertoires tend to look the same. The men who date them- are not looking for the brains and beauty of a Michelle Obama. Real intelligence is a threat to their ego.They have bought into the fetashized ideal of beauty- created by people like Hugh Hefner and plastic surgery. I can also tell you that women who base their entire self-worth on appearance tend to be unstable. Therefore, men like Sterling get exactly what they deserve.

We are 'fam. Nothing but love. And we should always check each other if need be. I am not blaming her at all. I think whatever her motivations she did the right thing. Who knows what her angle is? High end sex worker? Who cares? She showed the world what Sterling is and always was. Not complicated. Kudos to her. Now, that having been said, I too am disturbed by how I have heard black men defending Sterling--disgusting huh? the pathology of basketball linked to misogyny--and somehow blaming her. So very sad. Internalized white racism. Again.

I'm not mad at her either. But, she will be facing some of the worse scrutiny she's ever seen in her life. Especially now that it has effectively reaped some consequence upon Mr. Elite. They don't like when the little guy wins at holding them to account. They will harbor resentment until she is totally destroyed.

I suspected that was part of it, and glad to hear they will be returning the donations.

The NAACP has its own brand to protect as well. The national organization went through its own struggles several years ago, with internal backbiting and pettiness that distracted from its core mission, as stated.

There should be a quality component to the process of awarding Lifetime Achievement, to minimize the risk of a situation like this where the reward has to be revoked.

I'm never surprised about eruptions of racism like this. When someone acts in a manner where there is precedent for the deeds based on history, there is no surprise.

I do believe any surprise there was on the part of some was due to Sterling's efforts over the years to, apparently, whitewash his image, that, to put it bluntly, was successful in fooling some people. How does a man who was found guilty of racial discrimination in housing, meaning, the allegations of racism against him were proven, end up slated to get a lifetime achievement award from an organization dedicated to battling such discrimination? I would imagine this was the source of surprise for some.

As for not being upset, there are two components to this. First, in light of the recent supreme court decision striking down affirmative action, this situation serves as a symptom and reminder of the reality that racism still lives, and people are being impacted by this in more than just emotional ways. "Upset" implies emotional, but here the fact is discrimination still impacts the lives of "minorities" in concrete and substantial ways.

The other implication here is it is somehow always incumbent upon minorities to look askance at these eruptions, and always be "the bigger person." But how long do we have to wait for whites (not as individuals, mind you) to put down the pacifier of white supremacy and grow up?

Somehow this whole past week has just been a resoundingly ginormous validation of Justice Sotomayor's "dissent"; from this Sterling (what a name he picked for himself) to the mooching cowboy yahoo to Judge Roberts' pathetic response to Judge Sotomayor's eloquence. You would hope "we" would make hay with this and be a better nation for it, but Sterling when he sells will make perhaps a half billion $ ( can he can buy tickets for the Lakers games?); the cowboy is still roaming his imaginary range along with Fox News who for some reason is still permitted license, and Judge Roberts is still the chief judge of the most reactionary court since Taney was sitting there. I'm glad everyone seems to be happy with the NBA's response to this- including the players themselves- at the threat of a boycott, yet, but I am an old cynic who still cries in his heart for what might be. Anyway, how come I haven't heard very much about the remarks the great Henry Aaron made earlier this month?

I have been meditating on similar matters. As I said a few days ago I have 2 pieces that are taking up much of my thinking and that I keep working over. Bread and circuses my friend when there are serious matters afoot.

I am almost inclined to think that these types of individuals would go crazy if we tried to liberate their minds, similar to agent Smith when he lost his mind. It's so unfortunate, because it takes away from their spirituality, and ultimately leads them into a place of lasting darkness. I find that the individual I used to listen to is falling into this very trap, and may end up with a religious organization that attracts individuals who are unstable. Unless the creator himself intervenes, then I don't hold out too much hope for these types. What do you think would possibly work to free these types from their madness?

The fact is, there is more outrage about stupid racist statements than racist ACTIONS that have a negative impact. It wasn't until Sterling's girlfriend was photographed with Magic Johnson that the torches and pitchforks came out. The actual, verified racism Sterling PRACTICED against various non-white people was greeted with near silence by the media, the NBA, and most paradoxically, the NAACP, who took his money and gave him awards. The rather twisted message of all this seems to be that it's okay to practice racism but not say racist things.

As far as Adam Silver is concerned, the kudos are overblown. He did what should have been done 20 years ago. Congratulating him for ousting an oafish racist (that he has been well aware of in his capacity as the Assistant Commissioner) is ridiculous. The discussion has been diverted from the actual destructive power of institutionalized racist policy to "shocked outrage" about the ignorant comments of a privileged half-senile oaf. A symptom has been cured. The disease rolls merrily along. Olivia Pope couldn't have scripted it any better.

Tips and Support Are Always Welcome

Who is Chauncey DeVega?

I have been a guest on the BBC, National Public Radio, Ring of Fire Radio, Ed Schultz, Sirius XM's Make it Plain, Joshua Holland's Alternet Radio Hour, the Thom Hartmann radio show, the Burt Cohen show, and Our Common Ground.

I have also been interviewed on the RT Network and Free Speech TV.

I am a contributing writer for Salon and Alternet.

My writing has also been featured by Newsweek, The New York Daily News, Raw Story, The Huffington Post, and the Daily Kos.

My work has also been referenced by MSNBC, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, The Christian Science Monitor, the Associated Press, Chicago Sun-Times, Raw Story, The Washington Spectator, Media Matters, The Gothamist, Fader, XOJane, The National Memo, The Root, Detroit Free Press, San Diego Free Press, the Global Post, The Lost Angeles Blade as well as online magazines and publications such as Slate, The Week, The New Republic, Buzzfeed, Counterpunch, Truth-Out, Pacific Standard, Common Dreams, The Daily Beast, The Washington Times, The Nation, RogerEbert.com, Ebony, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Fox News, Breitbart, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Juan Williams, Herman Cain, Alex Jones, World Net Daily, Twitchy, the Free Republic, the National Review, NewsBusters, the Media Research Council, Project 21, and Weasel Zippers have made it known that they do not like me very much.